Herbalists' Cache millidelphia

For my son, @Mal. Didn't know where a good place would be so let me know if this is okay!

The pungent odor of pine sap called to Stephanie, reeling her in further with each blow of wind. The weight on her right side had become cause for a limp, though she was indifferent. It was as though her mind had released the block between what was and what wasn't real; Stephanie had given up trying to tell the difference. Her memory had long since failed so there was no use in asking how, or why, she'd ended up in the forest, because she hardly knew for herself.

What she did know was that where there were pine trees, there were squirrels. Her stomach rumbled up through her chest, the sudden realization that she was hungry bringing her back down to earth. Stephanie forced her nose to the ground and stumbled about in search of her next meal.

Yeah, it's fine! :D

Mal had pretty much decided he should make an early trip back to Brillo to just let her know the north is basically a big empty wasteland at this point, so he'd really get serious and take a longer time exploring the western and southern areas for somewhere to settle. He'd really thought that something would have come up by now, but he didn't seem to have the greatest luck.  His hunting was doing a bit better, though, so at least he his travels weren't taking too much of a toll.  And honestly, he wasn't thinking too deeply or paying much attention because of that.  The emptiness was numbing.

Or was, until something broke the monotony.  When he spotted someone else wandering, he froze, making a sort of strangled, unsure noise as he gawked and recognized who it was.  His mother.  To a certain point he'd thought her earlier reappearance had been a phantom, but now here in this unoccupied land he felt more certain like he was staring at a ghost.  Like something wasn't entirely right, but as the oblivious creature he was, he couldn't pin down what that was.  Assuming she was some sort of drifting spirit haunting his brain was easier.  Like this was some new trick by the witches of the wild to lure him in before the next batch tried to kill him too.  Maybe he should run from it or something.

If it hadn't been for the sudden silence, Stephanie would have never known she wasn't alone. It was as though all of the birds had stopped singing at once, hoping that the two predators would pass without realizing that they were hiding in plain sight. She slowly lifted her head, scanning her surroundings through a low, hazy gaze, until finally settling upon the mottled grey of a stranger. Except, this was the same kind of stranger as Delight; she knew that there was something, but she didn't know what it was, and it was harder to pick for clues this time.

Stephanie took one apprehensive step forward, then two back, before finally deciding to wait it out. She chuffed, breaking the strange silence, and looked expectantly at the stranger.

Honestly, Mal wasn't sure what he actually expected.  He didn't know what he wanted, either.  After all he'd been through, it wasn't like he was expecting her to run over and embrace him, but maybe something more dramatic than just standing there as dumbfounded as he was?  After all, it wasn't like there were many wolves out there that looked like her, so it should be pretty obvious who he was.  Right? And so she wasn't someone else, right?

Of course, there was the fact the last time she sort of saw him, it was indirectly through a bush at a distance.  And before that he was a tiny little fuzzball.  Maybe he changed a lot.  He wouldn't know.  The world seemed the same to him.  Either way, Mal wasn't nearly as loud as he typically was, uncertain, Mom?

It wasn't until she heard that voice, registered that word, that Stephanie's thoughts began to align. So much time had passed since they'd last spoke, last touched, but she knew who he was. A small whimper fell from between her lips as she searched desperately for a name, though her paws continued to pull her forward. Malachi? she whispered, approaching with tiny steps, Mal-- Mali? Stricken with the shame of not knowing her own child's name, Stephanie stopped moving and hung her head, silently cursing to herself.

She came slowly towards him while Mal stood like the dumb rock he kind of was.  He still wasn't entirely sure she was more than a ghost.  She might just poof right in front of him and he would wake up having eaten something that had gone bad -- maybe a mouse that ate something weird.  He'd believe it in a heartbeat.  Did he want to find out that it was a dream?  Not really.

And for all he knew, she thought he was a ghost too.  It wasn't like the pack had left a forwarding address back at the old territory.  It probably looked like everyone had been wiped off the face of the planet.  He took her second bit of confusion as a stutter, her downcast look maybe as some disappointment that she'd abandoned them.  That was what he wanted to see, at least.  Nobody had otherwise proven to care about him.  For someone who knew a reasonable amount of answers, he sure sounded like he was making it up on the fly, Just Mal, now.  Because that's what he'd decided.  He wasn't particularly creative about names, but he'd wanted a change, so there you go.  You're... back? A ghost?  A zombie?  A figment of his imagination?  Leaving again?

Just Mal. Okay. I think so, she sighed, lifting her head to scan his face again. Stephanie didn't know why she was there, or how, so the remaining duration of her trip wasn't of the highest priority. Something that she did care about was him, and how much he'd grown since the last time they'd met. How old are you now? she asked, unsure of how much time had passed. A harsh gust of wind drew in from the east, exposing the raw skin along her underbelly. Her fur had begun to thin out a while back, leaving her a dishevelled ghost of the beauty she'd once been.

You've grown so much. That was what kids did though, right? It probably wasn't even appropriate to refer to him as a child anymore, seeing as they were nearly the same size. I missed it.

Was she really?  Hm.  Where did she fit into his plans, then?  At one point he'd included Delight as a necessary tag-along, but he'd nixed himself from the list.  Queenie hadn't been around so Mal hadn't even bothered to think about her.  Was she as much of a disappointment?  Back to her question, though.  Uh.  I dunno.  A year?  He didn't seem particularly convinced.  When he'd left he'd still been in the pup ranks, but close to that transition.  And now he'd been wandering long enough that days had started to blur a little.  How long had it been?  It wasn't like they were gonna get big birthday parties.  Nobody liked pretending they existed.  Did he even know when he was born?  Either way, he was off by a couple months.

And when she continued and spoke of missing, well, most of his life, he shrugged. He didn't know how things might have been different.  There hadn't been too much to miss, though.  Mostly because after a certain point things seemed to socially come to a screeching halt and he didn't know what he'd missed out on.  Or what would eventually probably come back to haunt him.

Still, nothing said put a lid on that little voice that spoke the worst.  Part of it was probably his brain seeing things that his conscious mind wasn't entirely processing.  That something was off.  Maybe it was all a trick -- some cloudy memory that he'd awake from and it'd turn out to be a nightmare.  That maybe the reason he thought something might be wrong was because there was, but since he wasn't going over to examine her or anything and he was spending more time trying to study her expression...  There was, after all, one pointed question to ask, Where'd you go?  Okay, a few followups after that, like why Solomon wasn't with her, whether it was the witches' fault (duh), but he'd wait.

I don't know, Stephanie answered pointedly, having become quite sure that no, she did not know. It seemed to be a common question, asked more of herself than by anyone else, but she still didn't have an answer. It didn't matter either way because (1) she knew she wouldn't be going back anytime soon and (2) she was here now, wasn't she? Stephanie's brow furrowed with discontent as she thought about what having her disappear might have done to him. You know, psychologically and stuff.

Thoughts and memories were still rushing in. Where are the, uhm, the girls? she asked, images of the three pups nestled beside one another fading in and out. Stephanie wondered what had come of them, and if they'd made it anywhere beyond the den. More importantly, she wondered if they were near enough to find.

Her response made him question his own grasp on reality.  Maybe she was some sort of spirit -- surely his real mom would know where she went and why.  Mal wasn't particularly smart about certain things, one of those being the fact that sometimes things happened that totally messed with your mind.  To him, the world was clear and in focus, but this whole meeting had seemed strange and off and he couldn't put his paw on it.  It seemed unreal.  Perhaps she'd say something that would reveal her to be a trickster or something and he could just continue on his way once he'd unmasked it.  There were already the freaks at the coast and that dude from the black forest, so certainly there could be more out there.

Brillo's still with Delight in Elysium. He didn't know about the namechange and had stopped thinking of Delight/Ariel as his father.  He was now just some guy not worth his time.  I'd hoped Solomon had been with you.  But obviously she wasn't, given she was asking. So I dunno.  Their family certainly was a mess.  He still hadn't found any sign of his missing sister either, even though he'd wandered all over the damn place by now.

You should go see them.  I might later.  But I should go.  Where should he go?  Who knows.  Away.  That was about all he could figure out.  It was just too weird after a certain point.